"Hey guise, some nasty anon cocks will be sucked by the UK government in coming days. Stay tuned," it says.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed the attack, though it downplays its importance.

"This is a public information website and no sensitive data is held on it. No other Ministry of Justice systems have been affected," it says in a statement. "Measures put in place to keep the website running mean that some visitors may be unable to access the site intermittently."

Assange is currently in the Ecuadorian embassy, having been granted political asylum by the country. Police are camped out outside, ready to arrest him if he leaves the building.

He's trying to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex charges, but says he fears he'll be sent to the US for questioning over classified material published by WikiLeaks.